Google is the most popular search engine in the world , to the point where I finger dumb typing “ Google is the most popular search engine in the domain ” because holy shit , you already roll in the hay . But omnipresence is not synonymous with benevolence . The EU ’s new lawsuit against the lookup giant brings up heavy issues .
The European Union has officially charge Google in an antitrust case for abusing its berth of dominance and rig search results . Googlehas ten weeks to reply , and while the giant has a relentless fire hose of hard currency it can dart at its problems , this is the swelled antimonopoly case since Microsoft got bitchslapped by EU antimonopoly chargesin the 2000s . The termination is survive to gloss how Google operates . And even Google ’s cornucopia has limits : EU fines may be as much as $ 6.4 billion . It ’s a big hand .
The EU ’s Statement of Objections for Google concentrate on how its search engine arranges final result about shopping . Its ill allege that Google prioritizes results from the shopping site it possess over its competitors . It say Google shows answer according to their relevance for making itself stacks of cash , not theiractual relevancy to the individual searching .
The Commission is concerned that users do not of necessity see the most relevant results in response to enquiry – this is to the detriment of consumers , and stifles innovation . The Commission ’s preliminary scene is that to remedy such conduct , Google should plow its own comparison shopping service and those of challenger in the same way .
“ Google ’s abuse of its dominant position comes in various flesh and human body but some pattern live and have been take note over the last few twelvemonth , ” Arthur Ravier , a policy police officer atOpen Internet Project(a mathematical group that urged the EU to ban Google ) told me . Ravier cited the way Google rankings for restaurants give place with lots of Google+ reviews a boost over those with batch of Yelp or TripAdvisor reviews as a prime model of handling that hurt Google users .
This EU lawsuit is n’t the first clip Google ’s been accused of sneaky , anti - competitive maneuver . A leaked account evince that the Federal Trade Commissionnearly process Google back in 2012for its search - result skewing . In that font , in addition to simply prioritise its own services , Google was accused ofstealing content from contender . But an antimonopoly cause never bump . FTC ’s commissioner concord to back off and let Google voluntarily commute some of its policies in 2013 .
Google ’s reply to all this : It ’s not a monopoly , andcompetition is flourishing , so there ’s no evidence that its Google - centric hunting outcome are harm anybody . With competitors like Bing drawing large shares of the search mart ( itjust surpassed 20 % for the first time in the US ) , Google by all odds has a pointedness there .
notice that Google does not traverse allegation that it manipulates hunt results to prefer itself . The disceptation here basically amounts to , if you do n’t like it , use Bing !
It ’s not up for debate that Google has immense power over how we learn information . evidently a company task with ordering the known cyberspace is going to have to make selection about how to siphon relevance from the noise of a monster information - dump , and many of those choices will hinge on that ship’s company ’s immanent taste on what ’s authoritative . Google is pretty crying in the way it present that company insurance = our clobber is the most crucial .
What ’s up for debate here is n’t that Google manipulates search results , it ’s whether that handling is destroy contender , specifically in comparison shopping .
And that ’s in all likelihood a in force argumentation to have , but it really does n’t cut to the sum of what ’s wrong with search . There is a more pernicious issue with the manner Google prioritizes its event , and it has less to do with screwing over challenger than it does with creating a digital world that is tilted towards commerce over knowledge .
Whether or not Google ’s preference for its own stigma is tantamount to a monopoly , money drives Google hunting far more than knowledge . As Motherboard ’s Brian Merchantrecently point out , Google oftenyanks up commercial search outcome — a search for “ watch , ” for example , will contribute you right to Apple Watch , even though Apple ’s wearable tech is both very new and very not a generic watch .
The presumption is that you ’re looking to grease one’s palms something when you ’re look to see information on something . “ The logic that our chief object is to consume is write direct into the locomotive engine ’s DNA , ” Merchant writes .
People are bulge to detect Google ’s leaning towards hyper - commercialisation — children ’s groupsjust complained that the company ’s new YouTube Kids appis basically just a commercial - viewing peter . But it ’s telling that the volume of critique and complaints lobbed at Google ’ hunting functions are about hurting challenger rather than its dumb metamorphosis into an on-line shopping prick .
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